Discursive constructions of social and environmental accounting in Brazil: the case of Petrobras.

In the 29 years following \"Our Common Future\" by the United Nations, there is considerable debate among governments, civil society, interest groups and business organisations about what constitutes sustainable development, which constitutes evidence for a contested discourse concerning sustainability. The purpose of this study is to understand this debate in the developing economic context of Brazil, and in particular, to understand and critique the social and environmental accounting [SEA] discursive constructions relating to the State-owned, Petrobras as well as to understand the Brazilian literature on SEA. The discourse theory [DT]-based analysis employs rhetorical redescription to analyse twenty-two reports from Petrobras from 2004-2013. I investigate the political notions by employing the methodological framework of the Logics of Critical Explanation [LCE]. LCE engenders five methodological steps: problematisation, retroduction, logics (social, political and fantasmatic), articulation and critique. The empirical discussion suggests that the hegemony of economic development operates to obfuscate, rhetorically, the development of sustainability, so as to maintain the core business of Petrobras conceived as capital accumulation. Equally, these articulations also illustrate how the constructions of SEA operate to serve the company\'s purpose with few (none) profound changes in integration of sustainability. The Brazilian literature on SEA sustains the status quo of neo-liberal market policies that operate to protect the dominant business case approach to maintain an agenda of wealth-creation in relation to social and environmental needs. The articulations of the case manifested in policies regarding, for example, corruption, which involved over-payments for contracts and unsustainable practices relating to the use of fossil fuels and demonstrated that there was antagonism between action and disclosure. The corruption scandal that emerged after SEA disclosures highlighted the rhetorical nature of disclosure when financial resources were subtracted from the company for political parties and engineering contractors hid facts through incomplete disclosures. The articulations of SEA misrepresent a broader context of the meanings associated with sustainability, which restricted the constructions of SEA to principally serve and represent the intention of the most powerful groups. The significance of SEA, then is narrowed to represent particular interests. The study argues for more critical studies as limited Brazilian literature concerning SEA kept a \'safe distance\' from substantively critiquing the constructions of SEA and its articulations in the Brazilian context. The literature review and the Petrobras\' case illustrate a variety of naming, instituting and articulatory practices that endeavour to maintain the current hegemony of development in an emerging economy, which allows Petrobras to continue to exercise significant profit at the expense of the social and environmental. The constructed idea of development in Petrobras\' discourses emphasises a rhetoric of wider development, but, in reality, these discourses were the antithesis of political, social and ethical developmental issues. These constructions aim to hide struggles between social inequalities and exploitation of natural resources and constitute excuses about a fanciful notion of rhetorical and hegemonic neo-liberal development. In summary, this thesis contributes to the prior literature in five ways: (i) the addition of DT to the analysis of SEA enhances the discussion of political elements such as hegemony, antagonism, logic of equivalence/difference, ideology and articulation; (ii) the analysis of an emerging economy such as Brazil incorporates a new perspective of the discussion of the discourses of SEA and development; (iii) this thesis includes a focus on rhetoric to discuss the maintenance of the status quo; (iv) the holistic structure of the LCE approach enlarges the understanding of the social, political and fantasmatic logics of SEA studies and; (v) this thesis combines an analysis of the literature and the case of Petrobras to characterise and critique the state of the Brazilian academy and its impacts and reflections on the significance of SEA. This thesis, therefore, argues for more critical studies in the Brazilian academy due to the persistence of idea of SEA and development that takes-for-granted deep exclusions and contradictions and provide little space for critiques.

Résumé de l'histoire littéraire du Portugal ; suivi du Résumé de l'histoire littéraire du Brésil /

Spine title: Histoire littéraire du Portugal et Brésil.

Revista da Academia Brasileira de Letras.

Vols. 1-52, 1910-1936, called also nos. 1-180.

Brazil : its conditions and prospects /

Includes index.

Sustainability and supply chain management:Publications in Brazil

The number of research papers linking sustainability with supply chain management is increasing around the world. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the publications in Brazil are considering the relationship between sustainability and supply chain management. The methodology applied consists in five major steps: (1) selection of databases and journals, (2) selection of the papers, (3) reading of papers' abstracts to select only papers that are related to business and sustainability, (4) qualitative and quantitative analysis of the selected papers' abstracts to define the main dimension of sustainability and sustainability aspect, and finally, (5) an evaluation of experts' responses to a questionnaire in the field of sustainability and supply chain in Brazil. The literature review was conducted in 120 Brazilian academic journals in which 124 papers were identified as being published in relation to sustainability, business management and companies, from 2008 until 2013. When considering the traditional Triple Bottom Line approach, the results of the analysis show that sustainability research in Brazil is focusing on the environmental dimension and SCM research is focusing on the economic dimension. Additional inputs are provided by integrating the governance dimension in the analysis to underline which actions and policies are discussed in Brazilian literature at a corporate level. The consultation of experts in the field of sustainability in Brazil was aimed at understanding better the results of the conducted literature review. One of the main conclusions is that there are large opportunities to increase publications about sustainability and SCM in the country.

A long-term energy efficiency prediction model for the Brazilian automotive industry

According to law number 12.715/2012, Brazilian government instituted guidelines for a program named Inovar-Auto. In this context, energy efficiency is a survival requirement for Brazilian automotive industry from September 2016. As proposed by law, energy efficiency is not going to be calculated by models only. It is going to be calculated by the whole universe of new vehicles registered. In this scenario, the composition of vehicles sold in market will be a key factor on profits of each automaker. Energy efficiency and its consequences should be taken into consideration in all of its aspects. In this scenario, emerges the following question: which is the efficiency curve of one automaker for long term, allowing them to adequate to rules, keep balancing on investment in technologies, increasing energy efficiency without affecting competitiveness of product lineup? Among several variables to be considered, one can highlight the analysis of manufacturing costs, customer value perception and market share, which characterizes this problem as a multi-criteria decision-making. To tackle the energy efficiency problem required by legislation, this paper proposes a framework of multi-criteria decision-making. The proposed framework combines Delphi group and Analytic Hierarchy Process to identify suitable alternatives for automakers to incorporate in main Brazilian vehicle segments. A forecast model based on artificial neural networks was used to estimate vehicle sales demand to validate expected results. This approach is demonstrated with a real case study using public vehicles sales data of Brazilian automakers and public energy efficiency data.

Re-conceituando estratégia de marketing sob uma perspectiva luso-brasileira

Estratégias de marketing têm sido importantes para empresas, consumidores e mercados por serem capazes de contornar a histórica dificuldade enfrentada pelo âmbito da estratégia corporativa e pela alta hierarquia em reconhecer diferenças e especificidades dos mercados e consumidores. Apesar disso a literatura dominante argumenta que o advento da era da globalização tornou obsoleto o âmbito da estratégia de marketing por causa do processo de convergência das economias nacionais em torno do modelo de economia liberal de mercado. O principal objetivo deste ensaio é argumentar que acadêmicos do contexto luso-brasileiro – com especial ênfase para pesquisadores do Brasil e de Portugal – devem desafiar a literatura dominante e promover a construção de uma perspectiva lusobrasileira para reconceituar a estratégia de marketing tanto em termos domésticos quanto em termos internacionais. O ensaio mostra que dimensões institucionais e históricas do contexto luso-brasileiro e o boom recente de investimentos estrangeiros feitos por organizações portuguesas no Brasil e por organizações brasileiras em Portugal contrariando o argumento de que o âmbito da estratégia de marketing está obsoleto e que este é importante demais para ser desprezado na era da globalização.

Metabolic syndrome and associated factors in a population-based sample of schoolchildren in Colombia: The FUPRECOL Study

In contrast to the definition of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adults, there is no standard definition of MetS in pediatric populations. We aimed to assess the differences in the prevalence of MetS in children and adolescents aged 9–17 years in the city of Bogota (Colombia) using four different operational definitions for these age groups and to examine the associated variables. A total of 673 children and 1,247 adolescents attending public schools in Bogota (54.4% girls; age range 9–17.9 years) were included. The prevalence of MetS was determined by the definitions provided by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and three published studies by Cook et al., de Ferranti et al., and Ford et al. The prevalence of MetS was 0.3%, 6.3%, 7.8%, and 11.0% according to the IDF, Cook et al., Ford et al., and de Ferranti et al. definitions, respectively. The most prevalent components were low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high triglyceride levels, whereas the least prevalent components were abdominal obesity and hyperglycemia. Overall, the prevalence of MetS was higher in obese than in non-obese schoolchildren. In conclusion, MetS diagnoses in schoolchildren strongly depend on the definition chosen. These findings may be relevant to health promotion efforts for Colombian youth to develop prospective studies and to define which cut-offs are the best indicators of future morbidity.

Growth And Body Composition In Brazilian Female Rhythmic Gymnastics Athletes.

The aim was to analyse the physical growth and body composition of rhythmic gymnastics athletes relative to their level of somatic maturation. This was a cross-sectional study of 136 athletes on 23 teams from Brazil. Mass, standing height and sitting height were measured. Fat-free and fat masses, body fat percentages and ages of the predicted peak height velocity (PHV) were calculated. The z scores for mass were negative during all ages according to both WHO and Brazilian references, and that for standing height were also negative for all ages according to WHO reference but only until 12 years old according to Brazilian reference. The mean age of the predicted PHV was 12.1 years. The mean mass, standing and sitting heights, body fat percentage, fat-free mass and fat mass increased significantly until 4 to 5 years after the age of the PHV. Menarche was reached in only 26% of these athletes and mean age was 13.2 years. The mass was below the national reference standards, and the standing height was below only for the international reference, but they also had late recovery of mass and standing height during puberty. In conclusion, these athletes had a potential to gain mass and standing height several years after PHV, indicating late maturation.

Rh, Kell, Duffy, Kidd And Diego Blood Group System Polymorphism In Brazilian Japanese Descendants.

Polymorphisms of Rh, Kell, Duffy, Kidd and Diego blood group systems were studied in 209 unrelated Brazilian Japanese descendants from South of Brazil. The methods used were multiplex-PCR, AS-PCR and RFLP-PCR. The differences in frequencies among the populations were evaluated using chi-square test. The frequencies for Rh, Kell, Kidd and Diego system were similar to those of the Japanese. RHCE(*)CC, RHCE(*)EE genotypes and FY(*)01 allele were lower and FY(*)01N.01 was higher than Japanese. These differences in the frequencies between Brazilian Japanese descendants and Japanese could indicate a gene flow in Brazilian population and reinforce the importance of this knowledge to achieve safe red blood cells.

Patients' Perceptions About Diagnosis And Treatment Of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: A Cross-sectional Study Among Brazilian Patients.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) requires strict daily compliance with oral medication and regular blood and bone marrow control tests. The objective was to evaluate CML patients' perceptions about the disease, their access to information regarding the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment, adverse effects and associations of these variables with patients' demographics, region and healthcare access. Prospective cross-sectional study among CML patients registered with the Brazilian Lymphoma and Leukemia Association (ABRALE). CML patients receiving treatment through the public healthcare system were interviewed by telephone. Among 1,102 patients interviewed, the symptoms most frequently leading them to seek medical care were weakness or fatigue. One third were diagnosed by means of routine tests. The time that elapsed between first symptoms and seeking medical care was 42.28 ± 154.21 days. Most patients had been tested at least once for Philadelphia chromosome, but 43.2% did not know the results. 64.8% had had polymerase chain reaction testing for the BCR/ABL gene every three months. 47% believed that CML could be controlled, but 33.1% believed that there was no treatment. About 24% reported occasionally stopping their medication. Imatinib was associated with nausea, cramps and muscle pain. Self-reported treatment adherence was significantly associated with normalized blood count, and positively associated with imatinib. There is a lack of information or understanding about disease monitoring tools among Brazilian CML patients; they are diagnosed quickly and have good access to treatment. Correct comprehension of CML control tools is impaired in Brazilian patients.

Frequency of the different mutations causing spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA1, SCA2, MJD/SCA3 and DRPLA) in a large group of Brazilian patients

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) and Machado-Joseph disease or spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (MJD/SCA3) are three distinctive forms of autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) caused by expansions of an unstable CAG repeat localized in the coding region of the causative genes. Another related disease, dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) is also caused by an unstable triplet repeat and can present as SCA in late onset patients. We investigated the frequency of the SCA1, SCA2, MJD/SCA3 and DRPLA mutations in 328 Brazilian patients with SCA, belonging to 90 unrelated families with various patterns of inheritance and originating in different geographic regions of Brazil. We found mutations in 35 families (39%), 32 of them with a clear autosomal dominant inheritance. The frequency of the SCA1 mutation was 3% of all patients; and 6 % in the dominantly inherited SCAs. We identified the SCA2 mutation in 6% of all families and in 9% of the families with autosomal dominant inheritance. The MJD/SCA3 mutation was detected in 30 % of all patients; and in the 44% of the dominantly inherited cases. We found no DRPLA mutation. In addition, we observed variability in the frequency of the different mutations according to geographic origin of the patients, which is probably related to the distinct colonization of different parts of Brazil. These results suggest that SCA may be occasionally caused by the SCA1 and SCA2 mutations in the Brazilian population, and that the MJD/SCA3 mutation is the most common cause of dominantly inherited SCA in Brazil.

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva: case report

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva is a rare genetic disease characterized by widespread soft tissue ossification and congenital stigmata of the extremities. We report on a male child followed for ten years since the age of 3 years and 9 months, when the diagnosis was made. He was born with bilateral hypoplasic hallux valgus and ventricular septal defect, corrected by transsternal approach when 32 months old. Restriction of neck mobility followed and foci of ectopic ossification appeared. Four crises of disease exacerbation were treated with oral prednisone and/or other antiinflammatory drugs. Sodium etidronate 5 to 10 mg/kg/day was prescribed intermittently during about six years but was discontinued due to osteopenia. The disease course has been relentless, with severe movement restriction including the chest wall. A review showed few similar case reports in the Brazilian literature. We revisit the criteria for diagnosis and the essentials of management and treatment.

Actinomicose cerebral: observação anatomo-clinica e revisão da literatura brasileira

A case of central nervous system actinomycosis is reported. A 33-year-old male complained of headache, vomiting and blurred vision lasting for eight days prior to admission. On examination, a right hemiparesis, as well an intracranial hypertension were detected. The cerebrospinal fluid showed mild lymphomononuclear hypercytosis. Necropsy disclosed three abscess in the cerebral hemispheres, in addition to moderate cerebral edema on the left side but without purulent leptomeningitis. Actinomyces filaments and granules were demonstrated in the cerebral and lung abscesses. The Brazilian literature on actinomycosis is reviewed and six published cases with nervous system involvement were found. Relevant clinical and anatomical aspects of the cases and of the present one are discussed.